Hull construction.



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'UhiT-ED STATES JOHN ANDREWS, OF LEBANON, PENNSYLVANIA.

KULL CONSTR'UCTION.

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To all whom ir' may concern:

Be it known that i, JOHN ANDREWS, a subject of the King of Portugal, residing at Lebanon, in the county of Lebanon and State of Pennsylvania, have invented new aud useful improvements in Hull Construction, of Which the following is a s ecification.

This invention re ates to improvements in armor forbattleships, cruisers, fortiiications and the like, whereby penetration by bullets projected by high power guns will be minimized and damage to a vessel or fortification effectively prevented.

The invention has for one of its objects to improve and simplify the construction of protective armor and is so designed as to effectively cushion the bullet or Shell proj ected against the same to thus deaden the force thereof and at the same time provide means for preventing leakage in case the outer plate of the armor should be penetrated or opened.

'With these objects in view and others, as Will appear as the description proceeds, the invention comprises the various novel features of construction and arrangement of parts which will be more fully described hereinafter and set forth With particularity in the claim appended hereto.

In the accompanying drawing, Which illustrates one embodiment of theI invention, Figure 1 is a sectional view of the detail construction of the armor. Fig. 2 is a fragmentary side view.

Similar reference characters are employed to designate corresponding parts throughout the views.

Referring to the drawing, 1 designates the outer plate or sheet which is preferably of hard steel of Suitable thiekness and having a high resistance power to projectiles and bebind the shell or outer plate 1 is packed Wood fiber or cellulose 2 which has the well-known property of swelling when moistened so that in case of penetration of the outer Shell, the cellulose will close the opening to prevent the entrance of Water. This cellulose is packed between an intermediate plate 3 of relatively soft steel and the outer plate l so that the Specificaton of Letters Far/ent.

Application filed January 12, 1909.

rat-smed June as, 1909.-

senai No. 471,942.

construction thus formed constitutes the outer section of the hull or armor. rllhe inner shell of the hull is formed by a soft steel plate 4 of suitable thickness that forms a support for the outer section of the armor, and between the outer and inner sections of the hull is interposed a suitable resilient material 5 such as a rubber composition or equivalent Substance. The Sections of the hull are held firmly together by bolts 6 passing through the metal plates 1, 3 and 4 and through the cellulose and rubber fillings 2 and 5. The heads 7 of the bolts are countersunk in openings 8 in the inner plate 4 and arranged in these openings are elastic blocks or pieces 9 held in place in the openings by plugs or screws 10, the said blocks 9 serving as packing for preventing leakage through the hull along the bolts. With a hull con- Structed in this manner, the elastic filling 5 yields When a projectile strikes the plate 1 so as to absorb considerable of the force thereof and thus minimize the destructive effect and besides the several metal plates provide a durable, rigid and substantial structure.

Having thus described the invention, what I claim is An armor comprising an outer hard steel plate, an inner plate having countersunk openings, an intermediate plate, a layer of material between the outer and intermediate plates, said material being of such a nature as to sWell and close an opening in the outer Shell by the action of Water, a layer of compressible material between the inner and intermediate plates, bolts passing through the Several plates and having their heads disposed in the said countersunk openings, elastic blocks disposed in the openings against the heads of the bolts, and plugs 'disposed in the openings against the said blocks.

in testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

JOHN ANDREXVS.

l/Vitnesses:

JOHN L. FLETCHER,

BRADWAY. 

